Kumbh Mela 2025 – the biggest festival in the world

This week, the largest (religious) festival in the world, the Kumbh Mela, comes to an end in Prayagraj, India. Since the festival began on 13 January this year, 660 million people have attended this pilgrimage festival in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh – more people than the population of the European Union.

Morning atmosphere on the banks of the Ganges – © Johannes Brüning –

The (great) Kumbh Mela (Hindi कुंभ मेला – ‘festival of the jar’) is a Hindu pilgrimage festival that takes place every twelve years at four different locations in India: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain – with the exact dates depending on the position of Jupiter and the sun¹. Incidentally, the Kumbh Mela has been a UNESCO intangible world cultural heritage since 2017.

Triveni Sangam – floating pontoons at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati – © Johannes Brüning –

This year’s Kumbh Mela took place at the confluence of three rivers: the Ganges (the holiest river for Hindus), the Yamuna and the mythological, subterranean river Sarasvati – their union is called the Triveni Sangam.
For many pilgrims, a highlight of their visit is to take a dip in the Sangam – as a symbolic cleansing of sins and associated with the wish to become immortal. The Ganges, unfortunately one of the dirtiest rivers on earth², thus became a spiritual destination for millions of people during the Kumbh Mela.

View of the tent city and temporary bridges from the western bank of the Ganges – © Johannes Brüning –

During their visit, the visitors live in tents, which were mainly erected on the banks and the (in winter) partly dry riverbed of the Ganges and Yamuna to form a provisional city and connected by pontoon bridges. The Indian Railways used more than 16,000 special trains³ to bring the masses of people from all parts of the country north to the Ganges and back again.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know in advance what to expect during our visit and with the experience of how things usually work (or don’t work) in India, I had some respect for this event. In hindsight, I can definitely recommend a visit – outside of the main bathing days – if you want to get to know (spiritual) India a bit more.

Despite its size, the atmosphere at the festival is very peaceful, almost relaxed, especially in comparison to major Indian cities. Nevertheless, it is loud and sadly there were (also) mass panics during this year’s festival, resulting in several deaths⁴⁵.